


Flightless Birds

by Ameliesshit



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bakery, Alternate Universe - Tattoo Parlor, Angst, Everyone Needs A Hug, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Character Death, JJ Style, JJ can suck my dick, M/M, Makkachin Lives, Makkachin Makkalives, Minami Is My Son and I Love Him, My First Fanfic, Only because I can't write smut, Phichit Chulanont is a Little Shit, There's no smut I joke, VictUuri, Yaoi on Ice, figure skating
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-10
Updated: 2017-02-12
Packaged: 2018-09-16 16:07:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9279308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ameliesshit/pseuds/Ameliesshit
Summary: After the death of his mother, Yuuri spends his days in the family bakery, and skating with Phichit and Minami, until one day when he sees a mysterious silver-haired figure leave the ice.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [okbutphan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/okbutphan/gifts).



> This is my first fic, and I plan on making this long af so stick around. Because it's the first chapter it's not too long, but if all goes well the other chapters will be longer
> 
> -Amelie

_ Promise me Yuuri, promise me that you will forever be kind to others. _

 

Yuuri woke up every morning with his mother’s last words stuck in his head. Ever since then his routine stayed the same. Wake up, open up the family bakery, and sit in boredom till the weekend, when he skated with Phichit and Minami. Skating (and baking) were really the only two things Yuuri enjoyed after his mother’s death. Before, he used to love all sorts of things, anything he could do with his mother. They used to take bike rides in the mountains; spend hours in the garden tending to the flowers; go to the movies... He could go on all day about how perfect everything was, but now it was his duty to keep the bakery running, and at least that was easy for him. People came in all day, every day to get coffee, cakes and anything else they had. Mari was stationed at the front, mainly because she had charm, and was able to make eye contact with other, unlike some people. She made the coffee and chatted whoever came in, male or female, and Yuuri stuck to preparing the food at the back. Everyone always complimented the pair on their food, and even though they were talking to Mari, Yuuri felt special that people appreciated his hard work. 

Yuuri looked around the shop – the worn-out table tops, Mari’s paintings, the miss-matched dog bowls by the door; nothing was bought together, at his mother’s request, but everything looked perfect. The whole bakery reminded Yuuri of his mother, the way it told stories to all who entered, it was the perfect personification of her. The smell of the coffee from the front, blended with the flavours of the pastries was heavenly, and the gentle murmur from customers was a good distraction. 

***

One Friday, Yuuri was experimenting with flavours and put the finishing touches to his coconut and passion fruit cake.

“Mari! Come here!” Yuuri shouted from the kitchen. He could hear her slow footsteps until she poked her head around the corner.

“Yeah?” 

“Try this, I don’t know what it’s like, but I wanted you to be the first to try it.” Mari had a sceptical look on her face, but picked up a fork and sliced off a piece of the cake. Yuuri waited for her response, he hoped it was good, people seem to like his fruity cakes.

“It’s vegan as well,” he added. Mari finished chewing and looked at him with an unreadable expression. She didn’t say anything, yet she simply picked up the cake, and walked away. 

_ Oh, god she hates it _ , Yuuri thought. However, when he went through to the front of the shop, he could see his sister already a quarter of the way though the cake.

“Do you think that maybe,” Yuuri started, “we could put some up on the counter?”

Mari looked up at her brother, “If it tastes as good as this every time, I don’t think we need to sell anything else.”

Yuuri smiled and turned back to make another one.

***

After the late rush, when the shop had quietened down, Yuuri went to find Mari, but she had fallen into a lazy sleep on the counter. He laughed and put a blanket over her shoulders. The boy was about to turn but to the kitchens when he heard the door open silently. Looking around, he came face-to-face with an angry looking teenager, that had blond hair covering his face.

“Hi,” Yuuri said, “what can I get you?”

“A decaf, skinny cappuccino,” he turned to the attractive guy on his right, “what are you getting?”

The other guy looked at the board, then to Yuuri. He had the same glare as his friend, but the taller one looked more, sad?

“You have the same name,” he stated, looking at Yuuri’s name card. The smaller boy’s eyes shot at Yuuri, and he frowned. “Well, I’ll have an Americano, with almond milk if you have it.”

Yuuri thought for a second before replying, “We only have hazelnut at the moment, is that okay?”

“Sounds good,” He responded. Yuuri swung round to start brewing when the two boys stated talking about the cakes.

“Hey!” The blonde one (Also called Yuuri?) shouted, startling Yuuri. “What’s the white and pink one!”

Without even looking at the cakes, Yuuri immediately knew what he was talking about.

“Oh, that’s my vegan coconut and passion fruit cheesecake, I only made it an hour ago,” Yuuri called over his shoulder, “would you like a couple slices? It’s on the house seeing as it’s a new recipe.”

The two customers shared a look for a second before turning back to the counter. 

“Sounds good, how much for the coffees?” The taller guy questioned, pulling out his wallet.

“$3,” Yuuri relied carrying over both coffees. He placed them on the counter and took the money, smiling as he handed over the cake.

“Thanks for the cake, by the way,” Other Yuuri said walking away. 

“He’s nice when you get to know him. I’m Otabek, by the way, and my aggressive little friend over there is Yuri, with one u.”

“I guess I’ll see you round then?” Yuuri asked, trying not to sound over-friendly.

“Sure,” Otabek replied, and he seemed like the kind of person that’s friendlier to those in his close circle.

***

After everyone had left, and Mari had woken up, Yuuri grabbed his skates and ran out the door to greet his best friends Phichit and Minami. They were different in many ways, Phichit originally coming from Thailand, whereas Yuuri and Minami were from Japan. Minami, the shortest of the three boys, had only just joined their friendship group, and Phichit insisted that he was obsessed with Yuuri (He was just friendly).  For as long as the other two could remember, Minami had dyed a red streak through his dirty blonde hair, and when it started to fade, it was up to Yuuri to help him re-dye it. 

When the boys first met him, it was in their sophomore year, and Minami was put in to their group for a chemistry project. At first, he seemed over-excited and obnoxious, but he was one of the sweetest people Yuuri had met; always standing up for what he believed in. Their first conversation was Minami raving about skating, and almost ending up in tears when Phichit told him they skated as well. 

Phichit had been Yuuri’s friend since they were twelve, when Phichit joined the local skating school. Yuuri was already a few steps ahead, but Phichit had always been determined, and therefore caught up within a few months. After that, the two boys were inseparable, spending all their free time on the ice, and they agreed on almost everything, compromising where they could. At fourteen, Yuuri plucked up the courage to come out to his best friend, and of course he was accepted with open arms.  _ You are you, and no one can change that _ . After that, the younger boy did nothing but point out other guys to Yuuri. It was so easy for Phichit, one: he had charm pouring out his eyes, and could pick up anyone he wanted, and two: he was ace (but bi-romantic). 

Both of his friends were extremely good-looking (just saying), and had a couple girlfriends in the past, but Yuuri, well no one was interested in him. He had thick black hair that contrasted against his pale skin, and his eyes were just brown, nothing interesting. From birth Yuuri had poor eyesight, meaning he had to wear glasses, which did  _ not  _ do him any justice. The worst part of him though, was his body. He was constantly ashamed of the way he looked, as a consequence of gaining weight easily. His friends assured him that he shouldn’t be worried, and that  _ to gain love from others, you must love yourself first _ . Yuuri had tried his best to love himself, but he gained nothing but weight, so he decided that the best way to love himself was to have a body that could be loved.

***

By the time they were all twenty-four, the boys were practically pro skaters, often teaching younger kids on their time off. On a Sunday morning, Yuuri was standing on the edge with Minami, watching Phichit land a perfect triple lutz.

“Man, it took him a long time to get that right,” Minami commented

“Yeah, I remember when we were kids and he landed his first single loop,” Yuuri said, smiling, “we were so excited we blew our bus money on milkshakes.”

“Do you ever wonder what it would be like to do this for real, professionally, I mean.”

Yuuri thought for a moment, imagining himself gliding over the ice holding a gold medal, listening to his fans cheer him on. 

“Yeah, I think it would be my dream.” Yuuri replied, still watching Phichit land his jumps.

“Go for it then, what are you waiting for!” shouted Minami, sliding in front of him.

“I got the bakery to look after, I can’t leave Mari or my mom, she’s a part of that place.”

Minami looked down at his skates, and moved back to his original position.

“Do you think I could ever win anything?” The boy questioned with big eyes.

“Min, look at me, you could win gold at the Grand Prix Final! You so much better than you give yourself credit for.”

Minami smiled and wrapped his arms tightly around Yuuri’s neck.

“Thanks,” he mumbled in to the taller boy’s shoulder.

Phichit skated back towards them a little out of breath, but still smiling.

“How’d I do?”

***

As the three were getting ready to go, Yuuri looked towards the gate, and caught a glimpse of a silver-haired figure step out of the rink. He looked to be about 6 foot, and before leaving, he looked Yuuri dead in the eye and smirked,  _ fucking smirked. Wow, his eyes are really blue, and are those tattoos?  _ He turned and stepped out of the rink, leaving Yuuri slightly in love with someone he’d never met. He needed to find out everything he could about that man, and if he died trying, well then it would be a good way to die. 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ayyy here's victorrrrrr

 

Yuuri had been worrying about the stranger he saw for three weeks now, and when he went to Yuka, she couldn’t remember serving anyone with silver hair. He went to the rink almost every day after work to try find him again, but to no avail. Phichit and Minami searched every corner of the internet, but Yuuri didn’t give a very good description. 

“His hair sparkled like the moon on a river, and his eyes, wow. They looked like tropical oceans, glistening in the sunlight, rolling over the white sand, that’s a metaphor for his skin by the way. I swear though, I saw tattoos, like whole sleeves. They peaked up at his neck and at his wrists, they looked so real. It was honestly beautiful how well done they were, with colours that you couldn’t imagine. The best thing, though, the best thing of all; he seemed so content with his life, so beautiful and happy, and it’s all I’ve ever wanted.” 

Minami put a hand on his shoulder and gave him a crooked smile. 

“She’d be proud of you, ya know. Proud of who you’ve become,” he told Yuuri. 

“And she’d want you to be happy, and this guy you keep gushing about seems to put a smile on your face, so I say go for it, bro,” Phichit piped up. 

Minami looked down at his phone and let out a short gasp. 

“Did you say he had tattoos?” 

“Yeah, why?” Yuuri questioned. Minami shoved his phone in Yuuri’s face and showed him the front page of a website for a tattoo parlour. 

“Are you suggesting I get a tattoo?” 

“No, just look at the picture of the owner,” Minami told him exasperated. Yuuri’s eyes wandered down to a small picture of the owner, and holy shit. It was him, Victor, it said. How could it be anyone else, he had the same beautiful ink, yet it was fully exposed this time. His sleeves showed a mesh of whirling colour, surrounding silhouettes of figure skaters. He was wearing a t-shirt, although through the fabric he saw some colour on his chest, and it seemed like it would be something that showed more meaning than all the others. 

“He’s actually really hot.” 

Yuuri looked up and saw Phichit holding in a laugh. Little shit.  

“Don’t worry,” he assured, “He’s all yours.” Minami sent Yuuri a link to the website and walked out of the bakery, but before stepping out he called back. 

“You should give it a try, maybe go round later today and see what he’s like.” 

*** 

Yuuri thought for almost a week about going to the shop, but he could never pull up enough courage. This guy, Victor, wouldn’t even give him a second glance, let alone to agree to go out on a date. Even Mari had heard by now and reminded Yuuri every day of how hot Victor was, and how if Yuuri didn’t make a move, she would. Otabek and Yuri came back, and even they could tell something was bothering him. 

“Whoever they are,” Otabek said, “They seem special enough to make you worry, so go for it.” 

“Thanks,” Yuuri replied, pulling up a smile. 

“So, tell me about them.” 

Yuuri let out a small laugh, and began pouring his heart out to someone he’d only met twice. 

“Well, he’s a tattoo artist, and I saw them on his website, the tattoos, and they were beautiful. He smiles like he’s got no care in the world, nothing to be afraid of. I first saw him at the ice rink, and it was only a glance, but, I wanted to know everything about him then and there.” Yuuri looked up expecting to see Otabek laugh at him for being so naive, but he was smiling. 

“Maybe you should get a tattoo, ink must be pretty important to this guy, and it could give you something to talk about,” Otabek offered. 

“But he works in a tattoo parlour, I don’t really want him to be near me when I’m almost crying from pain.” 

Otabek looked over at Yuri before speaking again. 

“Yuratchka and I work in a tattoo parlour actually, I’m a piercer and Yuri is the receptionist, but I’m sure we could find someone to get you some good ink.” 

“That would be really nice, actually, thanks,” Yuuri responded. 

Otabek took Yuri by the arm and waltzed out of the bakery.  _They’re cute together._  

 *** 

Yuuri pushed through the doors of Ice and Fire Tattoos, and went up to find Yuri at the desk. The young boy seemed to be warming up to him now, and he even got a small smile once.  

“Hey Yuri,” Yuuri sighed, “sorry I’m a bit early.” 

Yuri looked up at the older boy, and wrote something down on the notepad in front of him. 

“The idiot will be here soon to discuss your tattoo, until then, go wait on the sofa.” 

As Yuuri walked to the sofa to sit down, a rather attractive topless man walked through the office and sat right down next to him. The guy pulled out his phone and glanced at Yuuri, smirking a little. He had a mop of blonde hair over a chestnut-coloured undercut, and had thick, long eyelashes covering bright green eyes. Using his peripheral vision, Yuuri checked out this guy’s body. He had the top of a red dragon poking over the top of his shoulder, breathing ruby and amber flames down his chest. Both his nipples were pierced, and he was nicely toned with a light tan. He had one side of his bottom lip and his nose pierced, both with a metallic red loop pushed through. Yuuri had to admit, he was good-looking, but not even close to Victor. The guy seemed to notice Yuuri staring and spoke up. 

“My name’s Chris, I’m the piercer for the more, provocative areas,” he said with a smile. His voice hinted that he was born in Scandinavia, but had been living in America for a while. Yuuri smiled back.  

“I’m Yuuri, getting my first tattoo today.” 

“A tattoo?” Chris questioned, “why not go for something that could be useful later.” He placed his hand on Yuuri’s thigh and looked up at him though his lashes. 

“Chris! Stop being a perv to my friends!” Yuri shouted from the desk. Chris faked a gasp. 

“Why, Yuri! Friends? You? I didn’t think you were capable of having friends other than your boyfriend!”  

“BEKA ISN’T MY BOYFRIEND YOU LITTLE SHIT!” Chris just laughed at the blonde’s remark, and stood up, walking back to his office. 

“Then I guess you won’t mind me asking him out,” Chris responded, giving a toothy grin. 

“IF YOU DARE GET YOR PERVY HANDS ON HIM I WILL END YOU!” Yuri jumped over the desk and slammed a kick into Chris’ chest leaving him half-laughing, half-coughing on the floor. 

“Ah well, better luck next time I guess,” He remarked stumbling through the door. An uncomfortable silence passed over until Yuri spoke back. 

“You’re not my friend.” Yuuri felt a little disheartened at that and frowned slightly, but Yuri simply added, “yet.” Yuuri let out a laugh, and even though he would never admit it, Yuri definitely smiled. 

After another five minutes, Yuuri checked his phone, only to be stared at by thirteen missed calls and twenty-four frantic texts from Phichit and Minami.  

 **Lil’ Hamster** :  _BOI MARI TOLD ME YOU’RE GETTING A TATTOO_  

 **Lil’ Hamster** :  _WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL US_  

 **Lil’ Hamster** :  _THIS IS A BRO THING. BROS. FOREVER. DUDE. BROTHER FROM ANOTHER MOTHER_  

The rest from Phichit were assortments of insults, apologies, and requests for tattoos of hamsters. When Yuuri looked through Minami’s, some of them weren’t too different. 

 **Smol Child** :  _OMG UR GETTING A TAT!?!?!?!?! THATS SOOOOO COOL_ _._  

 **Smol Child** _: AAAAHHHH SEND ME PICTURES!!!! WE SHOULD GET MATCHING ONES_  

 **Smol Child** :  _Hang on tho, is this just cus u wanna impress that silver dude!?_  

The rest follow on similar to Phichit’s, and as Yuuri laughed, he felt as though someone was watching him. He looked up at the tall figure looking at him with a soft smile, and holy shit it was him. Then Yuuri suddenly realised, Otabek fucking  _knew_ , he knew that when Yuuri was gushing about the perfect man, Otabek was actually friends with him.  _That little shit_. Victor looked even more beautiful, because WAS EVERYONE FUCKING TOPLESS. Victor had paler skin, but it perfectly matched his moonlight hair and watery eyes, and yes, he was toned as hell. 

“So, we meet again, rink boy. I must say, you got pretty close to landing that quad flip,” he remarked. 

“I fell over, though,” Yuuri replied shyly. 

“It was close enough. Victor Nikiforov, I’ll be inking you today,” Victor stuck out his hand, and Yuuri suddenly noticed his nails painted a deep blue.  

“Yuuri, and I like your tats, they look amazing.” Victor blushed slightly and looked down. 

“Yeah, I drew them out, but Georgi was the real artist, he’s the other tattoo artist, and a good one at that.” 

“You should give yourself more credit, it takes a lot of skill to think up something as beautiful as that.” Victor looked up at him and gave him a look that showed such innocence and vulnerability, that Yuuri’s heart broke a little a bit. 

“Thanks, that’s, kinda what I needed to hear right now.” Yuuri simply smiled and followed Victor through to his office. 

“I gotta ask,” Yuuri started, “why is everyone topless?” Victor laughed for a second before catching Yuuri’s gaze. 

“It was Chris’ idea, he said he wanted to bring in more customers, but I just think he likes showing himself off. That and he’s kinda pervy, so it doesn’t surprise me that he likes to stare at everyone.” Victor walked over to the desk and shifted through some papers. 

“So, what do you want drawn permanently onto your skin?” Victor questioned. 

Yuuri had been thinking about this for a while, and after careful consideration, he decided on the perfect tattoo.  

“It may sound weird, but could I get a watercolour style drawing of a waterfall over a Japanese flower garden?” Yuuri asked quietly. 

“What inspired this? A tattoo has to be important to you, or you may regret it,” Victor told him. 

“Before my mother died, she asked me and my sister to take her to her favourite spot, the waterfall, and she told us how she always wanted to plant a flower garden by it. She never got the chance to.” Yuuri looked up expecting Victor to just be writing or drawing ideas for the tattoo, however, Victor just stared at him, looking at all the details of his face. He seemed like he wanted to say something, but was too shy to open up. 

“That sounds perfect,” he said, “but there’s something missing. I know you love skating, and if this tattoo contains a part of your mother, it should contain a part of you too. Why don’t you have someone underneath the water? A skater? Perhaps a partner?” Yuuri hadn’t expected to want this, but the more he spoke to this man, the more he trusted him with his ideas. 

“The pair skate of  _Stay Close to Me_ , if that’s possible.” Victor looked at Yuuri with a raised eyebrow. 

“You like that program?” Victor asked. 

“Yeah, I find it beautiful, the way the two men skate with such a grace that could only be achieved through love, and the fact that the jumps in it are insane.” Victor chuckled as he handed Yuuri a drawing of his tattoo. 

“A perfect description. Is this the kind of thing you wanted?” Yuuri’s eyes flew over the blending shades, and the realistic water, flowing through a mesh of bright and blooming flowers. The two skaters in the centre were in one of the final poses, where they stare deeply into each other’s eyes as the taller one lifts his partner into the air. The water fell perfectly over their heads and backs, leaving the perfect scene of a perfect love story. 

“It’s amazing, more than I could have ever imagined.” 

“Let’s get started then.” 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The tattoo is finally finished, and I wrote a mini backstory for Phichit, but Minami's backstory will be next chapter.

Yuuri sat down on the cold workbench, and fiddled with the hem of his shirt. He felt nervous in front of the most beautiful, topless, man in the world, and started having second thoughts. Yuuri was about to ask if he could stop when Victor turned around with a smile.

“On your back, right?”

“Yeah, between my shoulder blades.”

Victor stood there, waiting for a second when Yuuri realised what he wanted. Blushing, he pulled of his t-shirt and turned his back to Victor. Yuuri arched his back when he felt a cold towel wipe against his skin.

“Sorry,” Victor said, “probably should’ve warned you.” Yuuri just laughed until he heard a small click, and the loud whirring of the machine. Bracing himself, Yuuri breathed out his nose and relaxed his muscles.

“Just relax, okay? It’s really not as bad as you think.” Victor’s words soothed his nerves, and when the needle pierced his skin, Yuuri was surprised at the level of pain. Sure, it hurt, but more like cat scratches than a chainsaw ripping through his back (He’d never had a tattoo before, sue him).

***

Victor and Yuuri made pleasant conversation filled with jokes, snarky comments, and Chris coming inside holding a cat.

“Yuuri, why didn’t you invite me to the party?” Chris questioned.

“Chris, I love you man, but beauty isn’t a party. You need to learn that you can’t come in when I’m working. Remember what happened last time.”

“Victor, that was a one-time thing. I promise I’ll be good.”

Victor scowled at him, while still retaining his charming smile underneath.

“Yuuri, you still doing okay there? Need to take a break?”

“nah, I’m fine thanks Viktor,” Yuuri replied sweetly. It seemed to get a reaction out of Chris, so he stood right in front of Yuuri’s face and smirked at him.

“Viktor, he’s just my type. Can we keep him?” Chris teased. Yuuri had no idea what to do. He wasn’t smooth, and he definitely didn’t have the courage to spit something clever back, so he just sat in silence waiting for Chris to leave. Chris’ cat mewed loudly and wriggled in his arms.

“Cat got your tongue?”

“CHRIS, I SWEAR TO GOD, I WILL TATTO MY FACE ONTO YOUR FACE, AND THEN I WILL GET MAKKACHIN TO EAT YOUR CAT!” Yuuri was slightly taken aback by the artist’s sudden outbreak, but felt warm inside, until he realised Victor was not his boyfriend, and he probably never will be. Chris just laughed and winked at Yuuri, walking away with the cat still clawing its way out of the blonde’s arms.

“Sorry about that. I don’t think there’s ever been a day without that guy flirting with the customers.”

“It’s fine, I don’t mind,” Yuuri assured him, “but hey, when you said ‘remember what happened last time’, what did you mean?” Victor pulled the gun away from Yuuri’s back, and sat down in front of him.

“About a year ago, some guy came in wanting a little touch up tattoo. It was nothing too big, but it was really intricate, so I put up a ‘do not disturb’ sign. Halfway through, and I pull back the tiniest bit to see the line I’d just drew, when Chris comes storming in and jumping on my back. If I hadn’t pulled back at the last minute, that poor guy would have a massive black line up his bicep, and it would have gone in pretty deep, too. After that I told Chris that if he ever came into my office while I was working, I would get to tattoo anything I wanted on him, and if he could go a year without bursting in, then he could pierce any part of my body.”

“I’m assuming you won?” Yuuri asked, intrigued.

“Yeah, yeah I did. Now Chris is the proud owner of a drawing of my dog figure skating. On his ass.” Both boys spent a good five minutes laughing, and Victor pressing his hand to Yuuri’s shoulder for support.

“The best thing is though, if I hadn’t won, he would’ve given me a dick piercing.” Yuuri’s eyes widened as he imagined, okay that was bordering on weird. “I swear, that guy has tried to find any excuse to see my dick,” Victor finished, shaking his head.

***

The rest of the session passed smoothly, and when Yuuri looked in the mirror, his eyes welled up with tears, his watery eyes passing over the flowing of water over the baby pink blossoms, yellow daisies, and pale green leaves. Yuuri’s gaze then fell upon the two skaters, looking deeply into each other’s eyes, not caring about the water rushing over their heads. As Yuuri concentrated on their faces, the shorter one had hints of his own face in it, and the taller man looked slightly like Victor. As he turned back to Victor, he wrapped his arms tightly around his waist.

“Well I guess this went well.”

Both boys turned to face Otabek and Yuri standing in the doorway. Did Otabek tell Victor about Yuuri’s slight crush? Yuuri shot him a look, and Otabek gently shook his head.

“Well, I’ll wrap you up and Yuri will discuss payments.” Victor then grabbed Yuuri by the arm and pulled him towards the cupboard.

“So,” Victor said passing Yuuri a couple pamphlets, “one of those is about the after care, and the other is about tattoos in general; the most painful places to have them, stuff like that.

“Thanks,” Yuuri said, and turned back towards the front desk.

After Yuuri had paid and said goodbye to everyone, he called Phichit and Minami. Neither of them picked up, so he decided to go back to their shared house, and see who was home.

Yuuri felt more confident, walking home with something beautiful etched onto his back, ready for the world to see. He thought about what the others would think of it, he mostly hoped Mari would like it. Yuuri knew the guys would love it, especially Minami, who was bound to get a similar one by the end of the month. Phichit had a tattoo, a small gold crown on the back of his neck. Yuuri knew it meant a lot to him, signifying the last time Phichit saw his father. He knew the story all too well, Phichit’s dad came back from one of his business trips after being gone for almost half a year, and acted like he hadn’t been gone at all.

_Both boys were thirteen, sitting at the kitchen table when Mr. Chulanont waltzed through the door and sat down on the sofa, Phichit burst in to tears and ran towards his father, only to get a half-hearted hug back. After a couple minutes Mr. Chulanont got irritated, and pushed his son away._

_“Phichit I’m tired now, leave me be,” he told him. Yuuri remembered his friend’s face fall after hearing those words, and the fake smile he put up as he watched the man he looked up to forget about him. Three days later Phichit ran over to his friend’s house, a huge toothy smile on his face._

_“Yuuri! Yuuri, come out I need to tell you something!” he called. Yuuri ran down the stairs to meet Phichit bouncing up and down with glee._

_“What happened? You seem happy,” Yuuri said._

_“I just got back from the movies with my dad!” Phichit replied excitedly._

_“Really? How was it? What did you see?” Yuuri kept bombarding him with questions until Phichit’s face fell. “Phichit? What’s wrong?”_

_“We watched ‘The Skater and the King’. It was amazing, and I wish I never watched just so I could see it again. I asked my dad what he thought of it when it finished, but he was just talking to one of his business partners.” Yuuri placed his hand on the younger boy’s shoulder and looked into his eyes._

_“Phichit, I gotta tell you the truth. Your dad has never been there for you, and I don’t know how much longer he will be, but you gotta think about what’s good right now. The more you focus on what could be better, the more you lose out on what’s good in the moment.”_

_“Wow,” Phichit said, “did you write that down before?”_

_“Shut up.” Both boys started laughing, and Yuuri knew that he needed to do his best to try and protect this boy._

_When Phichit turned eighteen, he decided that to put all the bad memories behind him, the crown would also be behind him._

***

“Mari? You there?” There was no response from anywhere in the kitchen, and Mari wasn’t at the counter like she usually was. It was just after the lunch rush, so only a couple of stragglers were left in the front, but Mari would still be out there in case anyone needed her. Yuuri looked all around the bakery until he heard a light snore coming the storage cupboard. When he opened the door, he found Mari leaning against the wall, holding a broom.

“Hey,” Yuuri whispered, “Mari? Are you gonna get up?” Mari just groaned and slid down on the floor. “Come on Mari, you need to get to bed.”

Yuuri carried Mari all the way upstairs to her apartment, and tucked her into bed.

“Night, Mari. See you tomorrow.” He gently closed the door and went back down to the bakery. When Yuuri walked through the kitchen, he was greeted by Minami and Phichit waiting excitedly. Minami squealed and almost fell over, whereas Phichit just tried to pull off his shirt.

“Woah, chill,” Yuuri assured them. As he lifted up his shirt and showed the boys his tattoo, he heard a light thump, and when Yuuri turned around, Minami was lying on the ground, star-struck.

“So, you think it looks okay?” Yuuri asked.

“It looks absolutely amazing, I’m in love with it. Who was the artist?” Phichit said.

“Silver dude, from the ice-rink.” Minami bolted upright and smiled wide.

“Oh, my, god, this is such a meet-cute!” he shouted. Yuuri sighed, and started walking towards the front of the shop.

“Well, this guy seems to be incredibly interested in you, seeing as he tattooed both of you on your back,” Phichit piped up.

“I thought so as well, but it was probable only because we were both right there, and I mean, he seems super straight,” Yuuri told them.

“Bullshit on that,” both friends said at the same time.

***

“So, Victor, I couldn’t help but notice a little personalisation to one of your latest designs,” Chris said.

“Yeah, V, what was with that?” Otabek asked.

“Yeah, laugh all you want. All I was doing was making sure it looked perfect,” Victor shot back.

“By drawing you and your crush?” Yuri spat out. Everyone was making fun of him now, and sure, maybe he thought Yuuri was cute, with his shaggy hair, and adorable blue glasses, and… Okay maybe it was a tiny crush, but it would never go anywhere. Yuuri was obviously straight.

“What’s everyone talking about?”

Everyone turned to see Georgi walk through the office, still wearing his trademark eyeliner.

“Victor’s got a crush.”

“Chris! I do not have a crush!”

Yuri snorted and looked over, “yeah right, when he first came in the shop I swear, you cried a little bit.”

“Look I’m leaving, and you all suck by the way!” Viktor called back. Everyone was silent until they were sure Victor left.

“That boy was as gay as Ryan Reynolds at the Golden Globes,” Chris spoke up.

“Victor’s a prick and Yuuri stole my name. I don’t like either of them,” Yuri said. The other guys laughed and Otabek walked over to his friend.

“C’mon, Yuratchka. It’ll be fun, and I _know_ you consider them to be your friends.”

“UUGGHH FINE! But you owe me one Beka.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAYYYYYY the tattoo guys' perspective. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Contains feels, angst, and Victor pov

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all can follow my ig for updates on the fic - ameliesshit
> 
> This chapter had feels but its a lot longer than the others

Yuuri was awoken by the shrill cry of ‘Shall we Skate’, and reached for his phone, curing the day he let Phichit call him.   
“What,” Yuuri answered. He quickly pulled the phone from his ear when a piercing scream came from the receiver.  
“Phichit what the fuck!” Yuuri shouted down the line. There were a series of murmurs, followed by what seemed to be Minami’s voice, and Yuuri took this time to check what ungodly hour he had been woken up at. Six? Ugh.  
“So, we just arrived at the rink.”  
“Minami?” he questioned, wondering how the hell both boys were awake and functioning at this time.  
Yuuri’s friend cleared his throat before finishing, “yeah. Anyway, we’re at the rink and you’ll never guess who just came in!” Yuuri suddenly had flashes of Victor all throughout his mind. Flowing silver hair, arms floating gracefully through the air.  
“I’m on my way.”  
***  
Yuuri practically sprinted his way to the rink, running by Yuko to exchange a quick hello. Once he had his skates on, he felt a hand rest on his shoulder. He brought his hand up to rest on in, thinking it was Phichit’s or Minami’s, but after turning around, he was face-to-face with bright blue eyes. Yuuri retracted his hand quickly and blushed furiously.  
“Sorry, I- I- I didn’t mean to. I though you w- were someone else,” he stammered. Viktor, a beautiful man who couldn’t possibly get better, laughed. A genuine, bright laugh like a sugar-high child’s, and Yuuri fell hard. Harder than he wanted to, because the man of his dreams was probably straight, and way out of his league. Yuuri smiled at him, trying as hard as he could not to gain eye contact.  
“That’s alright. You coming out on the ice?” Yuuri nodded and Victor held out his hand to help the younger boy up. When they were both standing, Victor guided them on to the ice, still clutching Yuuri’s hand. Yuuri laughed as Victor dramatically lunged on the ice, almost pulling Yuuri down with him.  
“Victor!” Victor turned to him, a look of worry flushed over his face.  
“Are you hurt? I’m so sorry let me help you,” he said. Victor fumbled around trying to help Yuuri, but he was just sort of hugging him.  
“Victor, seriously, I am completely fine.” He looked deeply into Yuuri’s eyes, and the younger boy almost leaned in until Phichit wolf-whistled from the other side of the rink. Both boys smiled at each other and Yuuri slipped away to show off a little bit. He thought about landing a triple salchow, but Victor was right there, this needed to be special. Yuuri had only ever landed a quad flip three times, but he was sure it would work this time (It had to, right?).  
Yuuri could sense a pair of blue eyes on him, and he readied himself for the most important jump of his life.  
***  
“Yuuri, what the actual fuck.” His heart was pounding in his chest, his vision blurred, everything was…  
Amazing.  
“Damn, how the fuck did you land that?” Yuuri turned to face Phichit and smiled.  
“That was so cool! Do you think you could teach me?” Yuuri heard Minami’s voice, but there was only one person he wanted to see right now. Looking around, he spotted Victor skating towards him.  
“You got some serious guts doing that. I could tell you had only done it once, maybe twice before,” Victor said, putting a hand on his shoulder.  
“Right,” Yuuri spoke, “I am never doing that again.” The four guys laughed, and Victor got a hold of Yuuri’s hand as they glided their way gracefully around the rink.  
Yuuri really got to know Victor in this short time, about living in Russia, his dog Makkachin, but the best he told, was about how he met Yuri.  
“I was walking back from the rink, and I was on my way to the smaller tattoo parlour I had there. I got out my keys to the door, but down the alleyway, there was some thirteen-year-old punk diving through the trash. I walked over, and called out, just trying to help him, ya know? So he starts throwing cans, and yelling at me, then I walk up and ask if he wants a job. First thing he says is that I’m a perverted stalker and to leave him alone. I couldn’t do that, not to someone as young as him. I told this kid that I have food inside and he can come in whenever he wants. Only about five minutes later he walks through the door and sits on the counter with tears in his eyes. I offered him a pirozhki, and he burst in to tears telling me about what happened in Moscow. It’s not my place to tell you, but he will, when the time is right.  
“I offered him a job and a place to stay, knowing he was living on the streets I wasn’t going to leave him out there. It took some convincing, but I pulled him round, and when I told him that I was moving to Japan, he asked if he could come. Of course, I said yes, and he’s followed me everywhere. He lives with Otabek now, and I know he has a crush on him, but he won’t admit it. Yuri’s strong, and who knows where he would’ve gone if I hadn’t found him. He’s happy, and although he doesn’t seem it, he has a heart of gold.” Yuuri saw a new light to the young boy now, a more gentle and warm side.  
“All your friends seem great, I hope to meet them all one day,” Yuuri told him. Victor grinned and watched as Phichit twisted around Minami.  
“You’ve yet to meet JJ, he’s a prick, and Georgi. I swear, that boy has cried over his girlfriend night after night without fail.”  
“How long ago did they break up?” Yuuri asked. Victor sighed and smiled up at him.  
“A year and a half ago.” Yuuri didn’t mean to laugh, he really didn’t, but when the other man started, it was hard not to join in.  
***  
Everyone made their way back to the shop, and Victor started by introducing Phichit and Minami to the guys.  
“My, my Victor, where are you getting these boys? They get better and better every time!” Minami blushed a deep red at Chris’ comment, and Phichit just ignored him.  
“Actually, these are Yuuri’s best friends,” Victor told everyone.   
“Yuuri!” Chris said, scandalised, “I thought we were best friends!”  
Phichit scoffed, “make out with him when you’re fourteen to find out your sexuality, then you can call him your best friend.” Yuuri blushed furiously as all the eyes in the room turned to him.  
“So, what was the answer?” Otabek asked with a smirk, “To the kiss?” Yuuri was about to change the subject when Phichit burst through.  
“Well sadly, I am ace, sorry Chris. However, my buddy over here discovered he was strictly dickly.” Yuuri’s face had turned a beetroot red, and Victor also had a patch of pink high on his cheeks.  
“Well, it seems that there’s actually a chance for us now, V.” Victor shot a glare at Chris, burning holes through his face.  
“Chris, you hoe, you have a boyfriend!” Yuri had somehow snuck silently in to the room, and butted in to the conversation.  
“Okay, okay, but just ‘cause I’m not ordering doesn’t mean I can’t look at the menu,” Chris retorted.  
“You’re disgusting,” Yuri told him.  
***  
The boys spent hours just talking with each other, with one or two people leaving for a while for appointments or walk-ins. Victor seemed to be completely ignoring Yuuri, but he couldn’t think what was wrong. Did Victor not like that fact that he was gay? Was he jealous in some way? Whatever it was, Yuuri was too shy to ask what was wrong. He was about to talk to Minami when the younger boy approached him first.  
“Go talk to your man, can’t you see he wants to talk to you? He’s blushing worse than you!” Yuuri felt embarrassed, mostly because his friend never gave him relationship advice before. He headed towards where Victor was talking to Otabek, but a guy burst through the door, also topless.   
“JJ is here!” There were a series of groans and curses that followed, and Yuuri crushing his can in his hand. Victor told him that this JJ guy was a real prick, but as he glanced back at his friends, Minami was staring with wide eyes.  
“You’re JJ Leroy. I love your band. SO. MUCH!” Band? This dude was in a fucking band?  
“Ah, nice to meet a fan,” Minami was already in tears at this point, “We should all go out for dinner!”  
“Yeah, I know a great place that opened up recently,” Georgi piped up.  
“Right, well we’ll all meet here at seven, and then be on our way to the restaurant,” JJ ordered, “Oh, and invite the other three.”  
As everyone dispersed, Yuri waited behind until it was just him and Victor.  
“So,” he started, “who’s the other three?”  
“That’s Georgi’s friend Mickey, his sister Sara, and who we think is here girlfriend, Mila. Who is also Yuri’s best friend after Otabek.” There was an awkward silence that followed, and Yuuri knew if he didn’t say anything then he would just stumble out without discussing what was wrong.  
“Did I do something wrong? If it’s because I’m gay, then we don’t have to hang out anymore. I just don’t think I could handle not being friends with you, you’re kinda amazing” Yuuri was looking down, too embarrassed to face his friend. He felt a warm hand underneath his chin, and lent in to his touch, embracing the heat.  
“Hey, look at me,” Victor whispered softly.  
Yuuri looked up through his eyelashes, and bit his bottom lip as he awaited the inevitable words that he didn’t want to hear.  
***  
Shit. How the hell did Victor fall this fast. He only just met the guy and he was already wanting to spend the rest of his life with him. Yuuri was so sweet, and kind, and deserved to be treated nicely. He always looked so happy with his friends, and all Victor wanted was for Yuuri to at him with that sort of love and devotion. He could imagine how it would go.   
Victor would ask him out on a date, and then many more to come, until Yuuri would move in with him, perhaps they would get another dog. After about a year, Victor would take him to the rink, and they would be all alone, skating to their favourite programme, and at the end, Victor would perform a piece he had been working on, the finishing pose being on one knee. As he would look up at Yuuri to see his face, Victor would pull out a rose, and inside the petals there would be a simple gold band. Both boys would burst into tears, and the two would be married wherever Yuuri wanted to go, with Chris and Phichit as the Best Men, and their friends supporting them from the pews. Yuuri’s bakery would flourish, and by then Victor would have added to the ink on his skin, marking him with the most beautiful things on earth, but nothing could compare to the life they would have.  
But Victor then realised that it could never happen, not with the circumstances of Yuuri being too good for him.  
Yuuri was looking at him now, asking him why Victor was being so distant. God, he was so beautiful, how was he so lucky as to find this boy. He couldn’t tell the truth, Yuuri would think he was weird, so instead he ran through the back door, leaving Yuuri standing alone in the office. Digging out his phone, he called Yuri.  
“What do you want pig,” the boy spat out.  
“Look, I like Yuuri, but he’ll think I’m weird if I tell him.”  
“What do you want me to do about it!?” Victor groaned as he thought through his options.   
“Could you just… I don’t know, make sure we don’t speak, like call me away if he comes in,” Victor asked, hoping his friend would have his back.  
“That boy loves you, and if you’re too stupid to realise, then you don’t deserve him.” Love? Yuuri wasn’t interested in him, and he never would be. His fantasy would stay a fantasy, and reality would stay a reality.  
“Look, I know what I’m doing, I can’t throw myself back into dating, and If Yuuri or I got our hearts broken, god knows how much more of us would break.  
“Fine,” Yuri said after a pause, “but you owe me one.”  
After he hung up, Victor looked over his life, how lonely it had been all these years, but now was not the time to think about it. Yuuri must be pushed to the back of his mind, only to be recognised as a customer. It would be hard, but even worse if he got rejected.   
***  
Victor got out of the shower, still going over what happened with Yuuri. He knew that this boy could be it for him, and he could live the rest of his life in domestic bliss, but it just couldn’t be the case, not with the way Yuuri was obviously friend-zoning him. Victor was watching American Horror Story, when his alarm chimed, telling him he had ten minutes to get to the shop. Rushing around his apartment, Victor slid on his tightest pair of pants and threw whatever clean shirt he could find. He grabbed his keys, phone and wallet and ran out the door.  
Practically flying down the stairs, Victor sprinted towards the shop. Everyone had already gathered inside, and he could see Yuuri laughing with Chris and Georgi. How was it so easy for everyone else to talk to that boy, when Victor couldn’t even look at him now he’d realised his feelings. As he opened the door everyone cheered and called him over.  
“VICTOR!” Victor turned around to see a bouncy red head fly towards him. She gripped onto him tightly, obviously missing him while she was back in Russia. Both spoke to each other in English usually, but today they had reverted back to their mother tongue.  
“Mila, I missed you so much!” Victor was always emotional when it came to friends but he was not going to cry today. “How was Russia? Did you find what you were looking for?”  
“Yes,” she answered, “and I was thinking about doing it tonight.” Victor was so happy for his friend, about to ask her girlfriend to marry her. Of course, Victor and Yuri (and probably Otabek) were the only ones to know, so it would come as a big surprise to everyone that they were even dating.  
“I wish you the best of luck, my friend.” Victor turned to the rest of the group who were all eyeing them now.  
“Right, we leaving?” he questioned.  
“Actually the place was fully booked, so we thought we could just have some beers, maybe play some Cards Against Humanity,” Georgi told him.  
“Sounds good. Do you want me to go get the beers then?” Victor asked. JJ just called over his shoulder.  
“Get me a Canadian one, I’m not drinking your Russian shit.”   
“Actually, it’s Russian, Japanese and Swiss, but I think Otabek brought some weird whisky,” Chris shouted from the back room. Victor was heading to the back room when he heard Sara shout to him.  
“Why don’t you bring your friend, show him around a little.” Victor turned so no one could see his blush, but tried shooting a look at Yuri.  
“Actually, it’s okay Yuuri, I can help Victor,” he said, after gaining eye contact with Victor. Both Russians left to bring in the cases of beer.  
***  
“So, Yuuri. What makes you special enough to date our Victor?” Yuuri sat uncomfortably as two very attractive girls interrogated him.  
“Umm, I’m not dating him.” Both girls looked scandalised.  
“But you will, right?” Sara asked. Yuuri thought for a moment, and realised just how much he wanted to date Victor. He wanted date after date after date, until they moved in together, and then get married later in life, living their days in complete happiness with their friends and family. Of course, Yuuri knew that it would never happen, that Victor wasn’t interested in him and that he should just move on with his life, but he would never be able to let Victor go.  
“I have known that boy since I was six, and I can tell when he is in love.   
You made a difference, so tell me, why haven’t you made a move yet?”   
Yuuri thought of why he hadn’t, but remembered what happened either that   
Day, and he knew that Victor just wasn’t that into him.  
***  
Everyone had fun that night, even Yuri. At some point, Minami got drunk and started pouring out his life story to the strangers he had just met.  
“So, I lived in a children’s home in Tokyo, and they were horrible there, always telling you how your parents left you behind because you’re disgusting, and the other kids hated me, mostly because I loved to dance. So, when I was eight, I snuck out at school time to see the circus. They hadn’t started shows yet, but they were practising in the field behind. I looked around and saw these girls dancing, but they were suspended fifty feet into the air, being held up only by ribbon. I fell in love with it, so I snuck in to watch the rest of the performers. Some guy comes along, and asks what I’m doing, so I tell him, ‘I’m falling in love.’  
“The next time someone approaches me, it’s an older woman who tells me that if I wanted to, I could run away with the circus. So I did. Well, not entirely, that woman adopted me, and trained me as a trapeze artist. When I turned fifteen, she decided I needed an education, so I was sent to high school, where I met these two idiots.”  
Yuuri loved hearing Minami talk about the circus, and he had seen it a few times with Phichit.  
When everyone started bombarding Minami with questions, Yuuri snuck away to wherever Victor and Yuri had run off to. Yuuri could hear voices behind a door, so he gently pressed his ear to it, hoping to find out why Victor was being so distant.  
“Yuri, please, I can’t even look at him, and I don’t think I can even be near him anymore.” Victor.  
“You need to grow the hell up and tell Yuuri how you feel, pretending to be his friend isn’t going to get you anywhere.” Yuri.  
So Victor was just pretending to be is friend? After all this time, Victor didn’t even like him. Yuuri ran back to the group, and told them he felt ill. After saying his goodbyes, Yuuri ran home in tears, thinking about the mysterious silver-haired figure he first saw on the rink.   
That wasn’t Victor anymore. Victor didn’t like him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM SORRY I DIDN'T WANT THIS TO HAPPEN


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The solution to these idiots' problem

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM SO SORRY ITS LATE, AND I WISH I COULD WRITE MORE ANGST BUT I PLAN TO WRITE LIKE 30K WORDS OF PURE FLUFF

Three weeks. Three miserable weeks since Yuuri had realised that Victor wasn’t the man of his dreams. Maybe this was how life should have gone for him, going to the bakery day in, day out, and living life in his tiny little circle forever. Phichit, Minami and Mari were all he needed in life, and he didn’t want to say it, but Yuuri would have to cut out everyone else as well. All the great friends he had made: Yuri, Otabek, Chris, Georgi, even JJ, would be his friends no more. Everyday Yuuri looked at his tattoo, thinking about how their relationship would have gone, would they skate in the winter on the frozen ponds? Dance under the waterfalls in summer? Or would they just spend their days in domestic bliss, loving each other until they closed their eyes for good. None of it could have happened, Yuuri didn’t deserve anything good. His father left them, his mother died, and this beautiful, kind-hearted guy, who he instantly felt a connection for, didn’t even want to see him.

“Yuuuuuuuriiiii!” Mari called from the front of the shop.

“Yeah?” Yuuri wiped his forehead and walked out to where his sister was.

“Could you make some lemon drizzle cake for today? I just feel we need some tang in the next batch.”

Yuuri really needed to bake today, just to take his mind off of everything that had happened previously. Grabbing all the necessary items, Yuuri set forth to make the greatest goddamn lemon drizzle cake this world had ever seen.

***

Five hours, and four cakes later, Yuuri had finally decided to go and switch with Mari so she could go have her much needed nap. Once he sat down at the front, Chris waltzed in wearing only a hoodie to cover his bare chest.

“Yuuri! Why haven’t you come back for more ink? Or perhaps a piercing? I think I know just where to put one,” Chris lifted his hand, and brushed his thumb against Yuuri’s bottom lip. Pulling back slightly, an obvious heat rising to his cheeks, Yuuri smiled.

“Well, I think that one is enough for me so far. And besides, Victor wouldn’t want me there.” Chris’ smile faded before a questioning look glazed his face.

“What the fuck are you talking about? That idiot is so obviously in lo-” Chris immediately stopped mid-sentence, and looked sheepishly at his feet.

“What do you mean? I heard Victor say that he didn’t want to be near me anymore?”

Chris’ eyes widened before he ran out of the bakery with his phone to his ear. What did he mean? Victor didn’t want to see him, let alone tattoo him. Trying to forget the whole ordeal, Yuuri checked his phone for any new messages, and saw that Phichit called him twice, Minami four times, Otabek messaged him once, and at the very bottom of his notifications, there was a text from Yuuri. Instantly clicking on it, Yuuri waiting for the screen to load.

Yuri: He loves you. You’re both idiots.

Yuuri stared at his phone, trying to comprehend what he just read. Yuri was lying, playing a trick on him… But, why would he? Yuri had no reason to do this, he never really cared about anyone but Otabek and, Victor. Was it true then? Did Yuri know something that he didn’t? Whatever it was, Yuuri was going to confront this man whether he like it or not.

***

Chris was sprinting back to the shop, where he knew Victor had just gotten back from his lunch break.

“Pick up, pick up!” Chris half-shouted down the line. When it reached voicemail, he shoved his phone back in his pocket, and bounded through the door to the shop.

“Beka, where. The fuck. Is Victor,” he panted. Otabek looked at him strangely before signalling to the main tattoo room. Chris burst through the door, and luckily Victor wasn’t with a client.

“Bro, what the fuck, we had a deal!” his friend complained.

“Screw the fucking deal. What the fuck have you done! That pure, perfect, innocent boy, has been sitting in that bakery waiting for you to turn up and sweep him off his feet, but apparently, he heard that you, didn’t ever want to see him! Why the fuck would you do that!” Victor stared blankly back at him, trying to figure out what to say next.

“He never liked me to begin with, I could tell. It’s why I told Yuri to make sure that we never see each other again, because I knew that I wouldn’t be able to handle being in the same room, and never telling him how I feel.” As he looked up, Victor saw that it wasn’t only Chris looking at him, but Otabek, Yuri and Georgi as well.

“I helped by the way, I told Yuuri that you love him,” Yuri spoke, before turning back to the front of the shop. Everything he had done to try and stop something bad from happening, was actually stopping something amazing from starting.

“Go get your man, V,” Georgi told him.

“Guys, cancel my appointments. I’ve got a routine to skate.”

***

Yuuri had finally finished work, and today he had the rink to himself. Tying up his skates, Yuuri glided on to the ice and readied himself for the beginning of Stay Close to Me. He was skating the single program, seeing as the man he wanted to skate with was never going to stay close. As the music started, Yuuri felt his body take over, and glide freely to it. It wasn’t until about a quarter of the way through, that he realised an arm had wrapped round his waist, guiding him in to the pair skate choreography. Opening his eyes, Yuuri came face-to-face with the face of an angel, an angel he had been waiting for. They both skated the routine perfectly, like it had been made for them specifically. It wasn’t until they had both caught their breath that Yuuri spoke up.

“Why?” Victor glanced at him, his cheeks turning slightly red.

“I was scared, I thought you could never like someone like me.” Yuuri glided forwards, until their noses were almost touching.

“I thought you were straight.” Victor laughed and cradled the back of the shorter boy’s neck.

“You are so perfect, and I want to draw all over you, marking you with our adventures, and I want you to teach me how to bake, spending lazy Sunday mornings in the kitchen.” Yuuri tilted his head ever so slightly, and the two feel together like pieces of a puzzle. Kissing Victor, was like running through a field of ice and snow, but you weren’t cold, you were just surrounded by the beauty of what life is, and what life could be. Yuuri had never imagined that his life would get better, and now that he has the arms of a freaking god wrapped round him, he never wanted to let go.

***

HOLY SHIT! Yuuri was so beautiful, so perfect, Victor never wanted to feel anything different. Their lips glided softly over each other, still cold from the temperature of the rink, but there was fire between them. Victor was always the forward one, but was slightly taken aback when Yuuri’s tongue pushed at the crease of his lips. Letting him in, Victor basked in the sweet bliss that was Yuuri Katsuki. Their feet were planted in the ice, and Victor let his hand fall to Yuuri’s waist, pulling him even closer. Things were getting heated, and if they didn’t stop now, Victor would take him right there.

“Wait,” Yuuri whispered, “We’re in the middle of an ice rink, and we shouldn’t rush, you’re too precious to lose.” Victor’s pupils dilated at his sheer love for this boy, and he knew at that moment, nothing could ever get better than this.

***

“MINAMI! COME LOOK AT THIS FUCKING PICTURE!” Phichit could hardly contain his joy that the people across the street could probably hear him.

“Dude, what?” Phichit lifted his phone towards Minami’s face, and when he fully understood what was going on, his eyes filled with tears, and his knees buckled.”

“Is that real?” He asked through the tears. Phichit nodded, and the boy of them whooped and cheered for what they had just seen.

“That is the most adorable little bunny I have ever seen; can we get one?” Minami asked. Phichit stopped, and looked at his friend strangely.

“What do you mean? What bunny?” When Phichit looked at his phone screen, he realised that what the two boys had seen, were definitely different pictures.

“Shit, I meant to show you the other one.” When Phichit lifted his phone a second time, Minami was staring at a picture of Yuuri and Victor, embracing each other in the middle of Yuko’s ice rink. When Phichit and Minami made eye contact, they both giggled like schoolgirls, and they began crying at their friend’s accomplishment.

***

At almost six in the morning, Yuuri snuck back in to the bakery to find Mari glaring at him.

“Walk of shame, huh?”

“Actually, it’s not the walk of shames if you didn’t sleep with them.”

“Damn, lil’ brother. So, when did the silver fox whisk you away?”

“Silver fox?” Yuuri thought, “oh, Victor. I guess you saw the picture then,”

“Yes, I saw the picture. You sly dog, how did you hide this from me, your beloved sister!” Yuuri laughed and heading through to the kitchen, thinking back to what happened the night before.

***

“So,” Victor started, “Why don’t we order a pizza, and spend the night watching Disney movies?”

“How could you get even more perfect?”

“Wait till you see me in bed,” Victor said, giving Yuuri a sly grin form the door. Victor’s apartment was right above the shop, so sneaking trough to get up there wasn’t easy, but they did it. Victor had a very modern style, with mainly blue, white and silver. It was homely though, with framed drawing of what could have been some of his favourite tattoo designs.

“Princess and the Frog first, or Brave?” Victor asked from the TV stand.

“Well I know all the songs to Princess and the Frog, so best to get my awful singing out the way.” What Victor didn’t know, was that Yuuri could actually sing very well, and he even performed a perfect rendition of Almost There half-drunk at a bar once.

The rest of their night was spent singing, eating pizza, and playing Cards Against Humanity, which Victor obviously won. They finished their movies, pizza and conversation, before heading to Victor’s bedroom, with a promise of waiting till they were ready. Victor pulled Yuuri close to his chest, and they spoke softly to each other until both boys fell asleep, smiles still on their faces.

***

When Victor woke up, his chest was cold, and there was a beautifully written note on the pillow.

Had to bake today’s cakes, come visit me at lunch xxx

Victor instantly fell back on to his pillow, a huge smile on his face, wondering how it would feel waking up with him, making breakfast together, and spending all their time loving one another. Maybe one day, Victor would ask Yuuri to move in with him, and they would spend a weekend taking Yuuri’s belongings to their home, and filling the kitchen shelves with all of Yuuri’s baking things, Victor’s bed piled high with little stuffed animals (he knew Yuuri had them), and the beautiful, traditional Japanese quilt that Yuuri’s mother made. It would become a home with a perfect mix of themselves, filled with pictures, memories, and small knick-knacks that they picked up in random places. Life would be good, and Victor was going to make sure that it would stay that way.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Im sorry its not that long I just needed to write a resolution, but tonight I'm gonna just write the next two chapters probably


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuuri and Victor have just begun their relationship, but what happens when Victor can't protect those he loves?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG. PLEASE DON'T HATE ME!

Yuuri had been thinking constantly of the night before constantly, replaying it over and over in his head, wishing that he could be with Victor right now. Yuuri had never been one to rush into relationships, even though he’s never been in one, but all that he could think of was dragging Victor by the wrist to his bedroom, and slowly- _wait, this is supposed to be teen and up._ Yuuri’s train of thought had drifted to the future. He could see a brick house, obviously with Makkachin, and a garden behind it, filled with all of their favourite flowers. Even though it was a stretch, Yuuri had always wanted kids, and with Yuuri’s squishiness, and Victor’s good looks, god knows they would have had beautiful children (if they could of, of course). Part of his fantasy included the many nights that they would enjoy with their friends, which Yuuri realised he had many more of now. Mari, Phichit and Minami were his best friends, but he was so glad that the others: Yuri, Otabek, Chris, Mila, Georgi, JJ, (and Sala, Mickey and Emil seemed lovely) were there for him as well now. Yuuri’s mind wondered over what the gang would have gotten up to; having drinks, playing Cards Against Humanity, sharing stories about the work, and generally enjoying each other’s company. Another thought was would Yuuri get any new tattoos? Would he take the path of his friends? He had always thought about what he would look like with full sleeves, but now there was a possibility that this could happen, Yuuri’s mind drifted over what ink could cover his arms. Snow? Ice? A giant cake? Whatever it could be, Yuuri knew that Victor would be the one to do it.

 

***

 

After a while, Yuuri was just about to doze off when a piecing scream was heard just outside. Sprinting outside, Yuuri rounded the corner to an alleyway, where he saw some guy with his hands over a girl’s mouth. Clearly this situation was about to get a lot worse, so without even thinking of a clear strategy, Yuuri jumped and pushed all his force into a kick that landed square in this guy’s chest. Now Yuuri wasn’t very strong, but he had spent enough of his childhood dodging bully’s punching, making him pretty agile. He told the girl to run and readied himself for what could be a fearful scrape. He looked around for anything that could help defend himself while the assailant stood back up, staring Yuuri down with a glare that bore through his skull. As the larger (very much larger) man charged at the him, he smaller boy caught sight of a smaller pole, and ducked down to grab it, swinging it at his attacker’s back as he passed. The man cried out and turned snapped his head round with murder in his eyes. Yuuri realised that he himself didn’t have enough fighting skill to win, but hopefully this guy was stupid enough to let this drag on until someone else passed by.

Yuuri had no idea what to do as a fist darted at his face. Fuck, this guy was faster than he expected. He tried to dodge the blast, but the fist just caught the top of Yuuri’s check making him step back and lose his balance. This back and forth of blow and dodge went on for a while, and Yuuri could feel himself losing energy, partly to the running back and forth, and partly because quite a few punches had been successful, probably breaking at least two ribs, and one of Yuuri’s fingers had been snapped backwards. The young boy was about to face another blow to the face when the oncoming fist was caught, and his assailant was kicked forcefully to the ground, knocking him out cold. As Yuuri looked up to see who saved him, a pair of arms wrapped around him, and he felt tears run down his neck. When Yuuri finally understood what was happening, he realised who the silver hair in front of his face belonged to.

“Victor,” he breathed out, bringing his arms to the taller man’s back.

“My god, Yuuri, what happened.” Yuuri pulled away to look deeply into the pair of ocean eyes filled with tears.

“He w-was attacking a girl, a-and she screamed, I-I didn’t mean to, really, but I couldn’t leave her,” Yuuri sobbed into Victor’s chest. He was expecting Victor to tell him that he was an idiot for getting into a fight that could’ve seriously hurt him, but Victor smiled.

“Knight in shining armour, you’re too good for me,” he simply said. Yuuri threw himself into Victor’s arms, and they both sat together for a while, just relishing the other’s company.

“How did you get here? I thought you were working?” Yuuri questioned.

“One of my appointments cancelled, so I wanted to come surprise you, but I heard shouting, so I ran to see what happened, and I almost broke down seeing you hurt.”

“Can we go in? I think I need to clear this all up,” Yuuri said, trying to wipe the blood streaming out of his nose.

“Oh god, yeah.” Yuuri was about to stand when Victor scooped him up bridal style, bringing him back into the bakery and searching desperately for the first aid kit. Yuuri laughed gently at Victor’s over-reaction, but he suddenly became light-headed, and his eyes were dropping. He tried to call for Victor, but as soon as he opened his mouth, all Yuuri could see was white, and he fell to the floor.

 

***

 

“PHICHIIIIIIIIIIIIT!”

Phichit sat up immediately, smacking his head of the bottom of the bunk.

“Shit,” he mumbled. Stumbling out of the bedroom, Phichit walked into the kitchen, only to face a teary-eyed Minami. His friend was clutching onto his phone, and his face was like a waterfall.

“Minami!” Phichit called, running over to his friend, “are you okay? What happened?” Minami turned on his pone and showed him a text from Mari.

**_Mari:_ ** _There’s an emergency. Yuuri was hurt and is in hospital. Victor was there to help but both should be here, he’s in a bad condition._

Oh god. Yuuri was hurt. Badly.

“Grab your coat, and meet me outside. I’ll call a cab.”

Ten minutes later, and a bucket-full of tears from Minami later, the two boys had arrived at the hospital, where their best friend lay in critical condition. Rushing through the doors, Phichit demanded to know where they kept his friend, and they were guided to a room down the hall. The boys were about to run right to the door when Phichit noticed a large group in the waiting room. At the centre was Victor and Mari, crying in each other’s arms. Consoling them were the others, even Yuri was there, looking, _sad_.

“Guys,” Phichit breathed out. Everyone turned to face the two newcomers, and Victor came right up to them, wrapping them tightly in his arms.

“I’m so sorry I couldn’t save him, I was too preoccupied with his cuts and bruises I didn’t even notice him drift off. I should have been able to help more,” he told them, sobbing fat tears down their backs. Phichit grabbed him by the shoulders, and pushed him back so they were facing each other.

“Don’t apologise, if you hadn’t been there in the first place, Yuuri’s condition would’ve been a lot worse. You _did_ save him, and he is going to be _fine_ , trust me. Yuuri needs support right now. He needs you. So, don’t sit here and feel sorry, trust that Yuuri is strong, and that he would never leave us, because he knows just what it’s like to be left by the person you love most. So, don’t you dare give my friend false hope and leave him now, because you have turned is life around since his mother’s death, and I never want to see Yuuri reach that point again, so I am trusting you to save my friend. Please, make sure that you don’t leave him. He deserves you, and you deserve him.” Everyone had fallen into a silence, and Victor lifted his head, and went to talk to the nurse. No one heard their conversation, but she nodded her head and let Victor into Yuuri’s room.

“That was nice, what you did for him. I can tell that your friend means a lot.” Phichit lifted his head to see Chris standing there with Georgi.

“Thanks. Yuuri and Minami are the most important people in my life, and I don’t think I could ever forgive myself if I was responsible for them getting hurt.”

“I know what you mean, everyone in the tattoo shop means so much to me, and I don’t really know of anyone else I care about more than them.”

“I Just hope that Yuuri’s okay,” Minami spoke up, wiping away the last of his tears.

“Do you guys know what happened?” Phichit asked.

“Yeah,” Georgi started, “Victor said he was gonna go surprise Yuuri at work, but when he got there he heard shouting from the alleyway, and when he found Yuuri, he was in a fight with some random guy. Victor said that he knocked the other guy out before ‘he could ever hit my man again’, and when he carried Yuuri in to fix him up, he passed out.”

“God, I need to see him. Minami, come with me.” Minami trailed behind as Phichit stormed up to the nurse and asked her to let the two of them in to see their best friend. She was reluctant at first, but eventually let them through. As soon as the door was opened, the sight before him almost broke Phichit’s heart. There sat Victor, tears streaming down his face as he held Yuuri’s hand close. Victor was only looking at him, and he was whispering sweet nothings to him, trying desperately to wake him. Phichit was about to approach them when he heard Victor say one of the most heart-wrenching things in his life.

“Yuuri, I only just found you, and I promised everyone that I would never let you go. You have lost too much in this life, and your brave face has been worn so much that it’s not that hard to see through anymore. I can’t bear to see you in pain, and I wish it was I who was laying in this bed, just so your pain wasn’t physical, because you have suffered too much already. You don’t deserve this, you should be happy, and I’m so sorry I wasn’t there when you needed me.”

“Victor, thank you.” Victor turned to look at both of Yuuri’s friends and smiled at them.

“He’ll get better, maybe we should tell him a story?” Minami spoke up.

“Sounds good. In fact, I think we should get everyone to help,” Victor told the boy.

 

***

 

After two hours of telling stories to Yuuri, the group was about to leave to give Yuuri some quiet time, but Victor felt the grip on his hand tighten, and he whipped his head round to see a small smile forming on Yuuri’s face.

“Man, I didn’t think you’d all come. Guess I should get in fights more often.” Everyone let out a small laugh, and Victor bent down to kiss Yuuri gently on the forehead, achieving a small blush from the boy, and a smile from everyone in the room (even though Yuri wouldn’t admit it).

“How you feeling?” Otabek asked.

“I think I’m okay, just a bit sore. Probably would’ve been worse if my silver fox didn’t come to the rescue.”

“You’re an idiot, but at least you had good reason for getting in that fight,” Yuri told him. Yuuri thought that the two of them could be great friends in time.

“That reminds me,” Victor said, “The girl who you helped brought you some flowers, and said thank you for helping her. She had quite an interesting story, but that’s for another time.”

“When can I leave?” Yuuri questioned.

“I think in about a week, but don’t worry, we’ll visit every day, and Mari said that the bakery will be fine with only selling coffee for a few days.” Phichit told his friend. A nurse poked her head through the door.

“I’m sorry, but visiting hours are over. If you’re quiet, I can let one of you stay though.” She smiled and closed the door, bringing the blind down with it.

“Victor, you can stay, we all have to get back to work, but you don’t have any appointments till tomorrow,” Yuri told him.

“Thanks.”

 

***

 

Everyone left shortly after, but Victor sat with Yuuri for three more hours, not talking about anything important, just enjoying being able to talk to each other.

“I was thinking about getting more tattoos, maybe something on my arm,” Yuuri said. Victor looked up with wide eyes, a smile spreading across his face.

“Really! I can help you pick if you want, and I can even do it for you!” Victor rushed through his sentence, and it made Yuuri chuckle a bit.

“I wouldn’t dream of having anyone else do it.” Victor looked into his eyes, and brought his hand up to Yuuri’s face, bringing their lips together for the first time since their night together. It was much softer this time, mostly because Victor was afraid of hurting the smaller boy, but said boy was a lot more eager than expected, and almost fell out of the bed trying to reach further and extend the kiss.

“Yuuri,” Victor hummed, “you need to be careful, can’t have you hurting yourself again.”

“Okay,” Yuuri replied sheepishly, “but we will continue this tomorrow.” Victor smiled and gave him a small peck on the lips.

“Until tomorrow my love!”

Yuuri fell back on his bed, a smile plastered to his face. _Oh boy, he was deeper than expected._


End file.
